The Art of Being Together
by Akio-Huntress
Summary: "Promise we'll always be together?" When Music and Nico were little they promised to always stay together and protect each other. But when Nico goes into a depression, Can Music protect him from himself?
1. Chapter 1

**A.n. I decided to write a new Nico/Music story. Couldn't stop the creative flow. Enjoy and review**

Music

_"We'll always be together, right?" Six year-old me cried as we dropped my best friend and his family at the airport. He gave me a large toothy smile. _

_"Pinky promise." he said holding out his pinky which I gladly took. _

_"I love you, Music." he said pulling me into a bear-hug, I cried against his shoulder. _

_"I love you too, Nico" _

_**(10 years later...) **_

Will honked the horn to his car at least a thousand times outside my house. I grabbed my bag and ran out as he continued to honk while I slid into the passenger seat.

"Your terrible, you know that?" I say. He just gives me that smile that made girls in our school giggle and blush but just annoyed me. I tossed him a glare while he laughed.

We drove down the road, singing Taylor Swift purposely off-key until we pulled into Lyric and Percy's place. Will only honked the horn once because he didn't want to annoy Lyric, considering he's had a crush on her for 2 years. I rolled my eyes and reach over him, honking ten more times. He swats my hand away. Lyric and Percy walk out the house. I see her flailing her arms, clearly they were arguing about something. Here we go...

"When murder's legal, remind me to kill Percy first." She said getting into the car.

"I don't think murder's ever going to be legal." Will said laughing.

"What happened this time?" I said, smiling.

"He made me change because our outfits looked to similar."

"She was wearing the girl version-"

"You're wearing the girl version."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

"GUYS!" I scream, "You look fine now shut up."

"Um, Lyric?" Will said, awkwardly "Do you have a partner for the dance assignment?"

"The emotions thing? Naw, I haven't gotten around to asking anyone yet. Why?" She said, looking out the window. She turned over to Will, who was blushing like crazy.

"Well I was kind of wondering-if you weren't to busy- if maybe we could dance together?"

"What's your emotion?"

"Love." He said in an awkward tone, his eyes trained on the road ahead.

"Don't you think that would be kind of awkward, considering we're friends." Lyric said, I knew she was joking but Will didn't. He started sputtering.

"You're right it was stupid- I could just ask Kayla or Ambria or whatever you don't have to-"

"I was kidding, we can work together. I got 'Loss' so we can make it work. Just calm down." Will blushed the whole way to the school.

I walked into the school with Lyric and Will, who were laughing about some boy falling in dance class on purpose, when I was stopped by Mr. Brunner, who was called Chiron by most of his students.

"Hello Ms. Canter, how are you?"

"Alive." I replied with a shrug "Is there anything you needed?"

"Ah yes, I need you to be a shadower. A new kid just transferred and Thalia was scheduled to do it but she's busy with testing. So can you do it?"

"Anything to get out of class."

"Excellent." Chiron laughed. "Follow me."

We walked back to the front office. He handed me my shadower pass so I don't get in trouble for not being in class. I stop by the guidance office to pick up my "shadow"

"Hey Lupa." I say as I walk in.

"Music, what can I do you for?" She says with a slightly wolfish grin.

"Just here to pick up my shadow." I say showing her my pass.

"He's just getting some last minute paperwork, he'll be out soon. And good luck with this one, he's a little... Anti-social."

"It's fine. I can deal with that."

I hear a door open and shut and I see him. Curly long hair that was coifed. He had on mostly black, black skinny jeans, black shoes, black band shirt for "Bring Me the Horizon". I make my way to his eyes and my heart stops. They were a deep brown almost black, long eyelashes and they were gigantic like...like...

"Nico?" I gasp


	2. Chapter 2: Seeking Shelter

**A.N I think this might be the darkest story I've ever written. But anyway, Enjoy and Review! **

Chapter 2: _Seeking Shelter _

**Music **

Nico looked up and stared at me for a while then continued to text whoever he was texting. He pushed past me and continued out the door.

"Told you." Lupa said, smiling at me sympathetic. I only shrugged and ran after him.

"Do you really not remember me?" I said stopping in front of him. He blinked at me before shrugging. "It's me, Music." I said, pointedly. He blinked again. "You remember me. I know you do."

"Look, I have better things to do then rekindling childhood friendships, so…" He said, stoically. He pushed past me again and began to walk down the hall again.

"How'd you know I was a _childhood _friend?" He stopped cold and turned to face me. "Busted." I said jokingly.

"Look, I have to go to class."

"Actually, you don't. You're my shadow for the day, meaning as much as you're trying to get rid of me you're stuck with me. Besides, you have no idea where you're going." I got him again with that one. He sighed and turned to me "Fine."

We walked around the school where I showed him things like the art department and the study hall etc. and he remained quiet. Finally, I worked up the nerve to ask him something that bothered me.

"So, how's your family? Hades? Bianca?"

"Well, dad's as cold and distant as he's always been and I think Bianca is ok, considering she's dead and all." He said in an asshole kind of tone.

"I'm sorry. I-I didn't know."

"No need to be, it's not like it's going to bring her back. And it's not like you were at her funeral or anything." He said sarcastically.

"You know if I had known I would've gone. Bianca was one of River's best friends. And I didn't see you running to come to Poseidon's funeral. I'm still sorry."

"It's whatever."

"No it's not. I know how close you two were. And I'm sure she got into Elysium." I joked, to lighten the mood. He sighed.

"Still into Mythology, I see."

"You used to be."

"Things change."

"Yea, I see that."

He narrowed his eyes at me but decided to let it drop. He smirked at me. "So, I imagine you turned into the goody-two shoes teacher's pet."

"Just because I do what I can to help those that want help, doesn't make me good."

"So, you're bad?" He said in a tone that implied more than he was saying. I didn't let on.

"I like to find a gray area." I shrugged.

"To be honest, I wasn't expecting to see you." He looked me up and down. "I like what I see."

"Hold up, you were rude to me and know your flirting with me?" I said, angrily "I don't play that."

"Goody two shoes." I heard him mumble. I growled and continued to the music department.

"Let's take it from the top you guys." I heard Lyric say. I stopped by the window connecting the room she was in to the hallway. I motioned Nico to follow.

"_When you were here before_

_Couldn't look you in the eye_

_You're just like an angel_

_Your skin makes me cry" _Lyric sang in a soft tone. Will continued to strum his guitar, until he started to sing.

"_You float like a feather_

_In a beautiful world_

_I wish I was special_

_You're so fucking special," _He sung in the same soft tone, Until Percy changed the beat with his drums. I saw Will strum chords harsher and Lyric grabbed the mic stand jumping and flipping her hair.

"_But I 'm a creep_

_I 'm a weirdo_

_What the hell am I doing here?_

_I don't belong here." _They sang together. I looked over to Nico, who was mumbling the words. "Remember _them?"_

"I remember Lyric, Percy and Grover." He said pointing out the short boy playing the bass. "Not so much the other guy."

"Yea, Will moved here after you left." I smiled.

"Do you like that guy or something?"

I looked at Nico then laughed. "That's disgusting. Will's like my best friend." I said still laughing. "Besides, he likes Lyric." If I didn't know any better, Nico let out a sigh of relief. I turned back to the band.

"_She's running out again_

_She's running out_

_She run, run, run, run_

_RUUUNN!" _They sang together in powerful voices then returned to their soft tones.

"_Whatever makes you happy_

_Whatever you want_

_You're so fucking special_

_I wish I was special_

_But I'm a creep_

_I'm a weirdo_

_What the hell am I doing here?_

_I don't belong here_

_I don't belong here." _They sang the last line together. I walked in clapping, Nico followed shyly behind me.

"Nice of you to join us, Music." Grover grumbled. I ruffled his hair.

"I had to shadow, idiot. Guys, this is Nico."

"We know Nico." Lyric spoke up. "How've you been?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "That was a great performance. I like Radiohead." He said quietly.

"Well, I like _Bring Me the Horizon_." She said pointing to his shirt. "Well, Nico, Music has to practice that dumb Taylor Swift song—."

"It's not dumb!"

Everything by Taylor Swift is dumb. Anyway, you're just going to have to sit with the girlfriends." She said, pointing to Juniper and Annabeth. Juniper waved and Annabeth didn't look up from her book. He sighed and walked over.

**Nico **

"Ugh! Do I really have to go?" I say while eating breakfast.

"What did I say about whining?" Dad said, glancing up from his newspaper.

"I'm not whining. I just hate everything."

"That kind of is whining." He grumbles. "Look, there's something we need to talk about."

"What is it?" I say through a mouthful of toast.

"Close your mouth, that's disgusting." He says then he sighs. "You remember me talking to you about Persephone, right?"

"Yea…" I say warily.

"Well, I'm going to propose." He says, sipping his coffee. "Tonight."

"What! Are you serious?! You barely know this woman."

"We've been dating a little over a year, Nico. I know her quite well."

"Yea, but I don't know her. And isn't it like custom to have her meet me before you decide you want to marry her."

"I _do _want to marry her. And I'm sure she'll be fine around you. She has a daughter of her own."

"_What?! _She has a kid too!"

"Well, not necessarily kid, you guys are the same age. Her name is Hazel and she's coming tonight. And I expect you to be on you best behavior."

"First, you move me back to this God-forsaken place. Then you tell me it was so you can marry a woman I haven't even met! What about Bianca? Or Mom? Do you even realize your replacing them both?!"

"I am not trying to replace them. No one can replace them. But it's been _6 years,_ Nico. You need to move on."

"I can't believe you right now." I said, getting up from the table.

"Don't walk away when I'm talking to you."

"Watch me." I responded from down the hall.

I walked into the bathroom, and pulled out a tiny prescription bottle from the medicine cabinet. Dr. Carter had taken me off the pill because some bullshit about affecting my health. This was my last bottle, only halfway full. I know I shouldn't take this but I really couldn't care less right now. I took one of the circular pills out of the bottle.

Bottoms up.


	3. Chapter 3: Starting New

**A.N Here's a long over-due Chapter 3! Enjoy and Review! **

Chapter 3:_ Starting New _

**Nico **

"_I knew you were trouble when you walked in_

_So shame on me now_

_Flew me to places I'd never been_

_Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground." _I listened to Music sing. She played the piano softly. She had a great voice; I'll give her that.

When she finished, she jogged toward me. I clapped slowly. "That was pretty good."

"Don't lie, that was amazing." She laughed. "Come on, I have one last thing to show you."

We walked around the school until we saw a hidden set of stairs blocked off by a gate.

"Do you have a credit card or ID or something?" I nodded and handed her my Driver's License. She had it all but 15 seconds then the gate popped open.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" I asked.

"Read a book. You'd be surprised what you'll learn in them. Come on." She grabbed my hand. "You have to watch your step up here."

She picked the lock for the next door, which apparently lead to the roof.

"Wow." Was all I could say. The view was amazing. You saw the plains that lined the border of Lockhart, Texas. You could see the wild mustangs running along them.

"Yea." She walked over to one of the vents and pulled a blanket from behind it. "This is where I like to come when I'm frustrated or stressed out." She laid the blanket down then patted the space next to her. I sat down. "So, what's up? You seem stressed."

"My dad wants to propose to a woman I never met." I said looking over the horizon.

"Oh, Well, maybe she's not as bad as you think."

"She has a daughter too."

"So you're going to have a sister?"

"Step-Sister." I corrected. "But yes."

"And you're upset about this?"

"It feels like he's replacing Bianca and Mom."

"That's kind of how I felt when mom married Richard. Hell, I called him Dick for the first year they were married just because I knew he didn't like it." I snickered and she smiled at me. "I never knew my real dad, so I can't really concept how you're feeling. But when it's only been you and Hades for a while. You don't really want it to change." She looked at me searching my face. "Your afraid that you weren't good enough that he had to find someone else, Bianca's always been the favorite, your afraid that he just had to find a new favorite." She looked at me again. "I hit the nail on the head, didn't I?"

"How do you know so much about this?" I asked quietly.

"Because as much as you're trying to deny it, I know you." She said, nudging me. I couldn't help but smile at her.

"Can we stay here?" I asked. "Like, the whole day?"

"That's usually what I do." She said lying down on the blanket. She looked up and saw me staring at her. She smirked for a second then winked at me. I laughed and lied down next to her.

I realized that today was the first time in a long time I actually smiled.

**Music **

"He seems a little off, Muse." Lyric said from the front seat.

"I know." I say back "But let's face it we're all a little off."

"That's true. Except for Wonder bread Boy over here." Lyric said, ruffling Will's hair. He swatted her hand away blushing slightly.

Watching their exchange made me think about being on the roof with Nico. I had fallen asleep on his chest. He was wide-awake but he hadn't moved me. That had to mean something, right?

"What are you smiling about?" Lyric asked me.

"Nothing. Can't a girl just smile to smile."

"Holy shit! You like that guy." Lyric exclaimed. I saw Will grip the steering wheel.

"I barely know him."

"Love at first sight then?" Juniper said from the third row.

"More like love at first _bite_, they totally made out." Lyric said laughing.

"Two people of the opposite sex can be alone together without making out or having sex, Lyric."

"Yea, if one of them is gay or they're related."

"Or if they have standards. Nothing happened, we just hung out. He's pretty cool."

"I'm sure he is." Lyric said, laughing.

"Why do I feel like your implying more then your saying?"

"That's because I am." She laughed. "I'm coming over your house."

"Do I get a choice in the matter?" I laughed.

"Not really. Sally and Dad are working late and I don't like being alone in the house with Percy."

"Hey!" Percy said.

"You could always come to my house." Will said.

"To be quite honest, I going to Music's house because I can persuade her mom to bake me cookies." She laughed. "Thanks for the offer though." She gave him one of her wide smiles, which made him blush.

I rolled my eyes and got out the car. "I don't see why you don't just tell him you know."

"What's the fun in that?" She said laughing.

"So you torture him for fun?"

"Ok, I torture everyone for fun. And I'm not just going to expose him like that. He'd tell me when he's ready."

"Whatever." I said.

"Hey, isn't that Nico?" Lyric said pointing at a Window. Sitting on the windowsill was indeed Nico. He sat there doing what looked like reading. I should have figured he moved back into his old house next to mine. As if on cue, he looked out the window and saw me and Lyric staring at him. Then Lyric did something I wasn't expecting.

She waved.

"Oh my God, what are you doing?" I said.

"I'm saying hi?"

"Stop it, we look like weirdoes!"

"And we wouldn't if we were just standing here, looking at him through your bedroom window?"

I looked and saw him wave back. "Great, he saw us."

"I know."

"But you don't like him."

"And you do?"

"I—"

"Got you with that one, didn't I?"

"He's different, you know? He acts different from which he was. Yet, when I look him in the eyes, he's somehow the same."

"Hmm, interesting." Lyric said.

"What's interesting?"

"Music Harmonia Canter actually likes someone after the countless years of me trying to set her up, or the countless times guys have hit one you. It only takes one guy to move back into town to change your whole perspective on everything." She said, pacing around my room. "Interesting."

"I told you to stop saying my middle name."

"You want to know what I think?"

"Not really, but your going to tell me anyway."

"I think the reason why you haven't dated any guy since Nico left is because you secretly had a crush on him since you were little and when he left it broke your heart. You tried to find guys and date but all of them didn't compare and now that he's back you want him, because even though you were little at the time, he was the only person you've ever truly loved."

I sat there shocked. "I—"

"Yea, it's not so nice when other people read you, huh?"

"Look, I don't know what you're talking about—"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about. You just don't want to admit it."

"Even if it was like that, he doesn't like me back so why bother?"

"That's where you're wrong. I think he likes you too."

"How so?"

"I'm good at these things remember?" she smiled. "And he's been looking at you through the window for about 13 minutes."

I looked out the window and saw Nico looking right at me. Maybe it was different this time he wasn't leaving. I wouldn't be as shattered as I was, maybe there was hope for us. So I did something I wasn't expecting to do.

I waved.


End file.
